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Donn Dears provides serious commentary on energy issues. The foundation for his articles and books is a lifetime of experience working in the energy industry, primarily General Electric where he was an engineer and senior executive.

Climate change is an energy issue, since it focuses on eliminating the use of fossil fuels that provide the least costly energy for people everywhere. Donn’s articles on climate change focus on the adverse effects of attempting to cut CO2 emissions. His books explain in detail why CO2 is not the primary cause of global warming, but also include a description of an alternative cause of warming, i.e., the Svensmark hypothesis, that has substantial scientific support.

He personally believes that all his articles and books are factually correct, and can supply supporting data if asked to do so. He uses the CAISO Duck curve to explain many of the problems associated with wind and solar energy. Donn has visited over 60 countries. His personal experiences, beginning with his sea-year as a cadet-midshipman, where, while still 19, he visited post-war Japan, Formosa, the Philippines, England and Germany, as well as many countries in South America, including Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina. These experiences allowed Donn to see how the lack of energy and electricity condemned people to poverty.

Photo by Dears and Smith, Formosa 1949

“Our ship carried phosphates, to be used for fertilizer, to Keelung, Formosa (now Taiwan), where the ship was unloaded solely by manual labor. Coolies ran up and down
ramps with yokes across their shoulders, using shovels and hands to fill two baskets with phosphate deep in the hold of the ship, then emptying their baskets
in trucks on the pier. This display of brutal, human effort was due to the lack of electricity, and was repeated twenty-four hours, every day for over a week.”

In his own words, “We are faced with a decision. Either we will develop low-cost, abundant energy that is conducive to economic growth, or we will choose high-cost energy that will inhibit economic growth in order to cut CO2 emissions.” “Collectively, we will make this decision by selecting leaders for our communities and government who will enact the laws and regulations that will either promote low-cost, abundant energy or, instead, insist on high-cost energy to cut CO2 emissions.” “High cost energy hurts the poorest among us.”

Donn Dears knows the facts after a lifetime working at General Electric where he had an opportunity to learn the needs of customers. Donn worked with steel mills, electric utilities, refineries, oil drilling and production facilities and open pit and underground mining operations in various countries around the world. As an engineer, he had responsibility for an engineering department that supported nearly one-hundred service facilities around the world. As an executive, he established facilities for servicing gas-turbines, steam turbines, transformers and other electrical and mechanical equipment in Europe, the Mideast, and Asia, including Australia. Following his retirement as a senior GE Company executive, he continues to study and write and speak about energy issues. Donn is an engineering graduate, with honors, from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and served on active duty in the U.S. Navy during the Korean war. In addition to his articles and books, Donn has spoken about energy issues at professional meetings, conferences, and on cruise ships.